


Mutare Mundi

by Kereudio



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 05:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14489691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kereudio/pseuds/Kereudio
Summary: "If you don't like this world, then change it."Fromthisdrabble list! Ann and Akira are in class when Mr. Ushimaru provides this piece of moral insight, leading Ann to briefly wonder if the Phantom Thieves are doing just that.





	Mutare Mundi

“Jeeze, kids these days….”

And gone. Social studies always began precisely like this, tinged by a complaint about “today’s youth” that Mr. Ushimaru still managed somehow to tie into a lesson. Akira let his head fall until his cheek was resting on the heel of his palm, staring out the window and to the courtyard a floor beneath them.

He didn’t know how long he was lost in thought; at some point, his hand had gravitated inside his desk and was lightly stroking Morgana, who was fast asleep and purring. In front of him, Ann shifted uncomfortably in her seat, leaning back and resting her elbow on the back of her chair, before immediately leaning forward again. It wasn’t like her to get restless in class, Akira thought, knowing her to usually absorb herself in her studies for these hours to avoid worrying herself sick over their next target. He reached forward as she leaned back again and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. She patted his hand and gave it a slight squeeze in return, before leaning out of his grasp and going back to focusing on her textbook.

Akira looked up from where he was staring at her hood, wondering what had made her so anxious, meeting Mr. Ushimaru’s gaze directly. Ushimaru narrowed his eyes at him, making Akira suddenly feel like he was under a microscope.

“If you don’t like this world, then change it. Stop sitting around and whining about the hand you’ve been dealt, and instead find a way to win the game with it. Wouldn’t you agree, Kurusu?” Akira found himself taken aback by the commentary. He met the narrowed eyes with a hard gaze but nodded regardless.

“I agree, sir.”

“Very good, it seems you were paying attention after all,” Mr. Ushimura hummed, turning his attention now to the rest of the class. Ann turned around as soon as his eyes were off of them, facing Akira. She looked worried about something, with her usual resting expression replaced with an inexplicable sadness; refusing to make eye contact with him.

When the bell rang to dismiss them for the day, Akira didn’t stand up from his seat immediately as he usually did; instead, he reached forward towards Ann again, his fingers brushing against her shoulder to grab her attention. 

“Ann, what’s on your mind?” He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. Ann turned, lifting her leg and sitting backward in her chair to face him more fully. As soon as she met his eyes, she looked down at her hands, biting her lip. “Ann, you can tell me anything, you know,” he tried again, offering her a gentle smile. He could see her swallow and open her mouth silently, willing the words to come out.

“This might sound weird… coming from me now of all times...” she began, tracing light circles on her arm. “But I was just thinking about what Mr. Ushimura said… and I can’t help but wonder if we’re doing the right thing… you know, as thieves.” Akira blinked slowly at her, suddenly unsure of what to say. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowing in thought. Ann interjected when she noticed his silence. “It’s fine; I don’t expect you to know the right thing to say right now. I’ll be okay… and don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” She pushed herself out of her seat, leaning against his desk. “Come on. We better get back to your place.” Akira smiled and nodded up at her, holding his bag open for Morgana to hop in and following Ann into the hallway.

* * *

“Alright,” Morgana said as he hopped up onto the table, sitting in the middle and looking around at the others. “We have quite a few requests from Mishima. It seems there was a sudden influx of them on the forum.” Akira looked up from where he was playing with a pencil, quirking an eyebrow at the cat. Morgana flicked his tail at him; he didn’t seem concerned with the implications of what he had just said. “The first one is of a Kosei student, Kimie, a first year claiming she’s being stalked by her mother’s jilted ex-lover…”

“That’s awful,” Ann growled.

“The target’s name is Inai Shigeki,” Morgana continued. “Changing his heart in mementos should stop him from harassing poor Kimie.”

“All right!” Ryuji cheered, punching one fist into his open palm. “Let’s teach the bastard that you shouldn’t stalk young girls!” 

“I agree with Ryuji; stalking is an unacceptable crime, and this man must be made to confess his crimes if Kimei is ever going to feel safe,” Yusuke looked more determined than usual. Akira wondered if it was just because the victim was a Kosei student or if he somehow had a connection to this case prior.

“Is that a unanimous decision, then?” Morgana asked. Everyone nodded and hummed their approval. “Excellent, then, onto our next request…”

Six total targets awaited in mementos, with yet another three needing more investigation from both the thieves and from Mishima. Akira pushed himself up from where he sat, smiling at his teammates.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

The others stood up as well, beginning to talk amongst themselves as they headed downstairs. As they went, Akira lingered back, lightly grabbing Ann by her elbow before she could walk past. She turned to face him.

“What is it?”

“You don’t have to target the world to change it,” Akira started, finally having found his answer to her prior anxiety. “Changing the life of just one person can set off a chain reaction that leads to change.” Ann blinked slowly at him as he reached into his pocket for his phone, pulling up on it the Phantom Aficionado Website. Confused, she peered closer at the phone, namely the stream of anonymous comments below the poll.

_> > We believe in you, Phantom Thieves!_  
_> > You guys helped me so much; I’m going to help others too!_  
_> > I’m going to stand up for the weak because the Phantom Thieves taught me how to!_  
_> > The Phantom Thieves are not criminals! I’ll prove that by running for parliament!_  
_> > The Phantom Thieves will save us all!_  
_> > Let’s all help the Phantom Thieves in our own ways!_

As she read, she covered her mouth with a hand, leaning back away from the phone. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but Akira could tell they weren’t ones of sadness.

“Are we really… changing the world by doing what we’re doing now?” Akira stuffed the phone back in his pocket, smiling at her.

“We’re giving people the push they need to change it themselves, I believe.” Ann looked between him and the ground, a smile crossing her face for the first time in hours.

“You’re right. You’re absolutely right, Akira…” She nodded, slowly at first, and then more vigorously, before looking up to lock eyes with him and clapping her hands together. “Then let’s continue being that push for everybody.” Akira nodded in agreement.

“We should catch up with the others, then.”

**Author's Note:**

> Woo, okay, this is my first time writing and posting a fic for P5, which is currently my favorite game like, ever. I'm not entirely sure in how I want to characterize my Akira, so I hope, for now, that this is sufficient! I also refuse to acknowledge that his canon name is Ren, from now until the end of time.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are very much appreciated and they help me be more confident in my writing <3
> 
> The title (very) roughly translates to "change the world" in Latin.


End file.
